I do not like being in crowds. Never have. Never will. I tend to harbor the illusion that there are fewer people in the immediate vicinity than there actually are.

I am stripped of this illusion now whenever I go anywhere within a 20-mile radius of home, which is now more often than I’d like. Everywhere on the outskirts of Palmer, roads are being what they call “punched in” – a supposedly innocuous term – or being widened either to accommodate two or four lanes. And everywhere, farmland is being sold to developers who are putting in subdivisions. I cringe seeing this.

View from the bench

Eventually, we are going to have to move. I knew this was coming when we moved here – it was forestalled by the 2008 recession and by Covid. Alas, once a ball gets rolling down a hill, it gains momentum and is hard to stop and is impossible to reverse.

Crowds. Today I went to the Emergency Preparedness Fair in Wasilla, an event that features 80 vendors, all hawking their various wares and giving away swag. Numerous Attendees were walking around with full plastic bags and vacant expressions. Meanwhile, outside it was one of the nicest days of the year. I suppose that if it had been raining that there would have been more people present, heaven forbid.

Pete and Robert (the BLBP Board president) did the first shift. Pam and I joined them a few hours later. We had been situated next to Kid’s Kupboard and were in a central location, which was a good thing. But there were just too many people.

We have reached a new level with the BLBP. We no longer exclusively pass out books. Now, when at such events, we strive to partner with other organizations, again, such as Kid’s Kupboard and also to talk with appreciative readers about our vision statement, which is envisioning literacy to change lives.

I was drumming up support for the upcoming Leap into Literacy event. I talked with a fellow who said he had connections, and yes, it may be possible to have a dog present, so that kids can read to it. And Kid’s Kupboard is going to start delivering lunches to the hotel, which we will pass out. We’ll combine this with a story time activity. This is the direction I’d like to see us go.

I say, let’s get the youngers, the one’s that still have a shred of creativity and imagination, and get them reading. I think that we are actually making inroads in this area, although some days I wonder if I’m just imagining it.

Tomorrow is going to be a day off for me. I need to let my brain recharge.

Next: 265. 9/29/24: One More Day of September